Satisfaction with police remains low among cybercrime victims

As India undergoes a rapid digital transformation, cybercrime has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing public safety challenges. From online financial fraud and identity theft to investment scams and phishing attacks, millions of Indians now encounter crimes that often leave lasting financial and psychological consequences.

In response, governments have expanded cyber helplines, launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, and established specialised cyber police stations across States. Yet, despite these institutional efforts, the Status of Policing in India Report 2026 finds that nearly two in three cybercrime victims (63%) remain dissatisfied with how the police handle their complaints, with one in five reporting being very dissatisfied. The findings suggest that while access to reporting mechanisms has improved considerably, improvements in accessibility have not been matched by victims’ experience of justice, making the gap between complaint registration and effective police action the weakest link in India’s cyber policing system (Table 1).

The satisfaction index combines victims’ experiences across four stages: the cyber helpline, online portal, complaint registration and police investigation.

Victims report the highest satisfaction at the first point of contact, with half of helpline users expressing satisfaction (“very and somewhat satisfied”). However, confidence steadily erodes as complaints move through the system, dropping to 47% for the online portal, 46% during complaint registration, and just 43% for police investigations. The findings suggest that the greatest challenge lies not in reporting cybercrime, but in seeing complaints through to a satisfactory resolution (Table 2).

Victims lose confidence

But the experience is not uniform. Women appear to have significantly poorer experiences than men (Table 3). While levels of moderate dissatisfaction are identical for both genders (42%), the gap widens in the most severe category. More than one in four women (26%) say they are very dissatisfied, compared to less than one in five men (18%).

For many victims, the challenge of reporting cybercrime is not only procedural but also time-consuming. 34 per cent of those who visited a police station to complain to the police waited two to three hours, while another 14% spent more than four hours before receiving assistance. Only 29% were attended to within an hour (Table 4). The findings suggest that lengthy waiting times continue to shape citizens’ experience of accessing police services. Even where reporting mechanisms exist, delays at the police station may discourage victims from pursuing complaints, particularly in cases involving financial loss or repeated follow-up.

Registering and pursuing a complaint rarely ends with a single visit, as highlighted in Table 5. While 31% of victims reported visiting the police station only once or twice, nearly one in four had to return five times or more (23%). Victims in rural areas reported double the incidence of five or more visits to the police station (38%) compared to those residing in urban areas (19%). Repeated visits involve lost work hours, travel expenses, and administrative uncertainty, highlighting the need for more efficient case management and better communication during investigations.

Table 6 shows that victims’ experiences of registering a complaint are mixed. A modest majority (57%) describe the process as very or somewhat easy, but 42% find it somewhat or very difficult. Across gender, women respondents were more likely to rate the process easier than men (61% and 54%, respectively).

India’s cyber policing architecture has expanded rapidly over the past decade, reflecting the growing recognition of digital crime as a major governance challenge. However, the experiences of cybercrime victims suggest that institutional capacity is still uneven where it matters most: investigation, follow-up and victim support. The findings underline a broader lesson for policing reforms: strengthening public trust requires moving beyond easier reporting mechanisms towards a system that is responsive, transparent and capable of delivering timely justice.

Krishangi Sinha is a researcher at Lokniti-CSDS. Views expressed are personal. This analysis is based on data collected during a comprehensive study on The Status of Policing in India Report 2026 jointly conducted by Lokniti-CSDS & Common Cause.